Honor Among Thieves
' |image= |series= |production=40510-539 |producer(s)= |story=Philip Kim |script=René Echevarria |director=Allan Eastman |imdbref=tt0708550 |guests=Michael Harney as Chadwick, Carlos Carrasco as Krole, John Chandler as Flith, Leland Crooke as Vorta Gelnon, Joseph Culp as Raimus, Nick Tate as Liam Bilby and Brad Blaisdell as Yint |previous_production=Far Beyond the Stars |next_production=Change of Heart |episode=DS9 S06E15 |airdate=25 February 1998 |previous_release=(DS9) One Little Ship Prey |next_release=(DS9) Change of Heart Retrospect |story_date(s)=Unknown |group="N"}} (2374) |previous_story=Prey |next_story=Retrospect }} Summary Starfleet Intelligence recruits Chief O'Brien to infiltrate the Orion Syndicate, the Alpha Quadrant's leading organized crime ring, to find a Starfleet informant. Posing as a handyman, O'Brien makes contact with a trio from the Syndicate by repairing a piece of their equipment. After researching O'Brien's fake background, Bilby, the leader of the trio, decides to bring him into his circle of associates. O'Brien fixes some faulty rifles Bilby procured for Raimus, his superior in the Syndicate. Bilby is so impressed by O'Brien's skills and honesty that he bonds with his new acquaintance, telling him about his beloved family. After Bilby reveals the identity of the informant, he takes O'Brien to meet Raimus. At the meeting, O'Brien is surprised to see that Bilby's boss is accompanied by a Vorta. Later, when he tells his Starfleet contact, Chadwick, O'Brien's assignment is extended so that he may learn why the Dominion is involved with the Syndicate. Proving himself as a valued member of the team, O'Brien helps his new associates rob a bank. The more time he spends with Bilby, the more he worries about the man and what will happen to him when his assignment ends. O'Brien expresses his concerns to Chadwick, who assures him that Bilby will be safest in a Federation prison — provided Starfleet gets him before the Syndicate. But O'Brien is still troubled by the idea of betraying his friend. Raimus and the Vorta want Bilby and his team to execute the Klingon ambassador to Farius — using Klingon rifles to make it look as if the dignitary was killed by fellow countrymen. The Dominion hopes this will lead to the end of the Klingon alliance with the Federation. As Chadwick prepares to warn the ambassador, O'Brien realizes that the Klingons will kill Bilby and his men, so he hurries to Bilby's apartment to stop him. O'Brien tells Bilby that he is working for Starfleet, and reveals the pending Klingon ambush. At first, Bilby refuses to believe O'Brien, but once he does, he insists on continuing with the mission, feeling it is the only way to protect his wife and children from Syndicate retribution for his mistake in trusting O'Brien. Knowing he will be killed, Bilby asks O'Brien to care for his cat, and the two men part for the last time. O'Brien returns to Deep Space Nine saddened that he has sent a friend to his death. Errors and Explanations Nit Central # Anonymous on Wednesday, March 03, 1999 - 4:26 pm: Are we really supposed to believe that Chief O'Brien is the only person in Starfleet that can keep the station operational? He leaves for a few days and the place falls apart. Charles Cabe (Ccabe) on Wednesday, March 03, 1999 - 7:45 pm: Chief O'Brien probably isn't the only one who can keep the station operational. But, knowing the DS9 curse, the other ones that could keep DS9 going are probably on Cardassia Prime, both of them. Mike Konczewski on Thursday, March 04, 1999 - 6:51 am: I have the impression that, while O'Brien is an outstanding engineer, he is a terrible manager. He doesn't know anything about delegating duties. That's why when he leaves, things fall apart. He hasn't trained anyone to think on their own. # Thande on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 4:54 am: Isn't it interesting that we see lots of people working for the Orion Syndicate, yet none of them are Orions! (I'd expect at least one, probably in charge). They probably prefer to stay well hidden. # The Klingon disruptor rifle used by Bilby fires a continuous red beam, whereas the other disruptors we've seen on DS9 fire short green bursts. However, the Klingon disruptors in ST3 did fire a red beam, so it might just be an older model...the only annoying thing is, they use the same prop for both types. LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 6:32 am: I don't see why the weapon thing has to be annoying. So they modified it to have different settings and stuff. The TOS Enterprise, IIRC, had different-colored phaser beams. Thande on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 8:51 am: True… I suppose it's the beam vs. burst thing which seems more incongruous than differently coloured beams (the Enterprise-D's main phasers also changed colour when they were modulating frequencies in BoBW).LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 11:38 am: It was established in Destiny (DS9) that phasers can be modified to emit short bursts or continuous beams, and phaser pistols have settings for both power and beam width, which to me, just makes sense. Why shouldn't a weapon have different beam settings, or at least be modifiable to do so? AWhite (Inblackestnight) on Friday, August 15, 2014 - 6:27 pm:''The disruptors with the more cone-shaped emitter are the ones we see typically firing the green burst of energy; aside from in ST VI that is. The ones in this ep are indeed an older model, but likely has different settings as well. ' # AWhite (Inblackestnight) on Friday, August 15, 2014 - 6:27 pm: As much as I enjoyed this ep, one of the better this season IMHO, I don't find it very plausible. For starters, It seems out of character for the Dominion to do business with any AQ criminal organizations; it's just not their style, at least not so blatantly by using a Vorta; a Changling on the other hand...'''Perhaps they want to use the criminal activities of the Syndicate to destabilise the Alpha Quadrant. Notes Category:Episodes Category:Deep Space Nine